Dear Jessie and Claire,
I am thrilled to be working with you both in a curatorial capacity for Unkept.
Thank you for confirming your participation and enthusiasm for my project. And for taking this adventure with me. Since seeing your Fontanelle show through a Skype tour Jessie and walking through your Masters exhibition Claire your works have fascinated, captivated and "Wowed" me. I am so thrilled to me able bring you, your practices, approaches and work together in Unkept.
There is so much resonance between your works:
- Both worked with chalk: Claire to draw the light hitting a wall, Jessie to create a rainbow and bring forth the texture of the gallery walls.
- Both work with rainbows: Claire documents sightings of rainbows, Jessie uses rainbows in her works not wanting to negate any colour
- Both respond to site: Claire often working with the light, inside/outside, studio space, and chance sightings, Jessie more directly working with any particular site as she finds it and usually adding (or occasionally taking away) colour, glitters and texture, using minimal materials and simple but repetitive processes
- Both draw attention to everyday, lived in environments
- Both worked collaboratively on very successful projects/works: Claire as part of Nuclei and Intercollective and Jessie with Steve Wilson and as part of tarpspace
- Both occasionally incorporate an element of interaction in your works: Claire with your listening devices you gently encourage the viewer to stoop down or lean up to listen to your recordings or soundscapes, and also your kite work, Jessie you've used binoculars before for the viewer to use to read tiny writing in the distance.
- Both inspire the viewer to observe and appreciate their surroundings: Claire your paintings of the sky are observations, documentation and recordings of your surroundings, they are ever so beautiful and simple in their appreciate of your surroundings (and I feel that they are so "of" Tasmania), Jessie working with even the most lowly materials or spaces (chewing gum, cracks in the pavement, holes and flaws in walls and ceilings) you transform often ignored everyday surroundings
- Both inspired by light and shadow: Claire most of your works, Jessie your recent light chalk work with Steve - drawing the light in the stairwell at UniSA
- Both incorporate a sense of play in your work: Claire I think your kites are a good example of this and also the birds - tracing their movements of the surfaces of a window, Jessie your work is often so small, colourful or shiny and often a simple gesture it's inescapably charming and playful
- Both your work makes me happy
I know you don't know each other very well so I hope this list of similarities that I've spotted can introduce you both to the resonance in your works, approaches and practices. As I've discussed with you both I'd like you both to get to know each others practices and approaches better in the coming months. To discuss recurring themes and ideas, ask questions and give personal responses and potentially work collaboratively on a work/or a number of works in Unkept.
You might already have questions or things you want to discuss from the crossovers that I've highlighted but I thought we could begin this conversation and see where it takes us.
Love Polly
ps - Jessie when are you coming to Tassie again? Perhaps we can book in a time to meet at the gallery.
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